WOW STORY OF THE DAY: He Collected Incense as a Child Because Perfumes Were Unaffordable and Built a Luxury Fragrance Brand

₹5,000, India Infotech, a Fish Farm, and a Gap Nobody Had Closed

Shashank Chourey grew up in a middle-class family in Indore, developing a fascination for computers as a teenager. He became largely self-taught in technology and cybersecurity, becoming an ethical hacker before pursuing entrepreneurship. He is an engineering dropout whose instinct to build businesses arrived before any formal qualification could slow him down.

In 2009, with just ₹5,000 in hand, he launched India Infotech, a digital services venture that eventually grew into a successful digital marketing and web services business generating several crores in annual revenue, giving him his first real experience in building and scaling a company from nothing.

He also experimented with fish farming, confirming a restlessness that refused to be confined to a single industry. But fragrance always called him back.

Throughout his technology career, his childhood fascination with perfume never left him. He studied global perfume brands and noticed that most charged 20 to 30 times the actual production cost, with the premium almost entirely attributable to branding rather than quality. He went looking for a brand that offered world-class fragrance at honest pricing. When he found none, he built one.

House of EM5 launched initially in 2019, paused during the pandemic, and officially relaunched in June 2022, with Shashank investing ₹2.3 crore of his own funds. The vision was precise: affordable luxury fragrance for the Indian consumer who appreciated fine craftsmanship and refused to overpay for a label.

From 900 Orders to 80,000 Bottles a Month and a 30,000 Square Foot Factory That Is Already Full

The boldest product and business decision House of EM5 made was to build everything in-house. By manufacturing its own fragrances and using minimalist packaging, the brand eliminated the cost layers that make luxury perfumes inaccessible and passed those savings directly to the customer.

The numbers that followed are extraordinary. In its first year 2022-23, the brand shipped just 900 online orders. By January 2026, it was processing more than 2,000 orders a day and selling nearly 80,000 bottles a month. The 30,000 square foot manufacturing centre, with a capacity of 60,000 to 80,000 units per month, is now completely saturated. Shashank is doubling manufacturing capacity to fulfil 6,000 to 7,000 orders daily.

"With a surge in orders and new product expansions, we are doubling our manufacturing capacity to fulfil 6,000 to 7,000 orders daily. This expansion will ensure we meet the growing demand while maintaining quality and efficiency," he says.

The product range spans over 100 fragrances including perfume sprays, body mists, solid perfumes, scented candles, perfume roll-ons, beard balms, car perfumes, foot sprays, reed diffusers, gift hampers, discovery sets, and yearly sample subscriptions, all sulphate-free, silicone-free, paraben-free, cruelty-free, and non-carcinogenic. The majority of customers are in the 28-45 age group, a commercially valuable demographic that spends consistently and loyally.

A sampling model that lets customers test before committing and genuine feedback loops across Instagram, WhatsApp, and email have built an impressive repeat purchase rate that confirms the product earns its loyalty rather than buying it.

The Shark Tank Moment — February 1 2025, ₹35 Crore Ask, and Aman Gupta Says Yes

Shashank Chourey appeared on Shark Tank India Season 4, with the episode airing on February 1 2025. He entered the tank with ₹1.7 crore in monthly run rate and sought ₹70 lakh for 2% equity, initially valuing House of EM5 at ₹35 crore.

Peyush Bansal and Vineeta Singh stepped back citing fragrance market competition. But Aman Gupta, co-founder of boAt, saw exactly what Shashank had built. He invested ₹1 crore for 10% equity at a ₹10 crore valuation, bringing both capital and one of India's most respected D2C brand architects as a strategic partner.

"Shashank Chourey envisions transforming EM5 into a ₹500 crore online business within five years," Indian Retailer confirmed. With Aman Gupta's backing and a manufacturing capacity expansion underway, that ambition has a clear runway.

Scale and Real-World Impact

The Most Powerful Consumer Brands Are the Ones That Start With a Childhood Dream and Scale It Into a Movement

The sharpest lesson from House of EM5's journey is this: the most disruptive consumer brands are built by founders who experienced the problem personally, built the solution obsessively, and refused to stop until the market caught up with the vision.

Shashank Chourey collected incense because perfumes were out of reach. He built India Infotech with ₹5,000 and turned it into crores. He applied the same discipline to fragrance and built a company that went from 900 orders in year one to 80,000 bottles a month in three years.

He started with incense. He built a ₹500 crore ambition. And House of EM5 is only getting started.

Sources: Business Standard, Indian Retailer, Business Remedies, StartupChronicle, Tracxn, Dealroom